Volunteers
by Lizzy322
Summary: Reverse!Pines fic. Mabel loves putting on a show and pleasing the crowd, unlike her twin counterpart, who prefers sticking to the shadows. Performing an act is especially nice with a couple...volunteers. One-shot. May turn into a series if requested.


Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls. And this is an AU. So. Yeah. Reverse!Pines, or the Gleeful Twins, whichever you'd like to call 'em I guess.

A/N: I've been very inconsistent with my stories. I am bad and I should feel bad. Inspiration is just hard to come by right now. Hopefully, I'll start tossing out stories more often from here on out. But...no promises.

"Dipper, hurry up. We can't leave the crowd waiting, you know."

The lilting voice traveled across the room and Dipper sighed, his hands still clutching his collar as he stared at the mirror, the pane reflecting his sister, who leaned against the banister with an air of mild boredom.

"I'm seriously considering we just cancel," Dipper murmured, running a hand through his hair, cringing at his embarrassing birthmark that stood out horribly. It was going to be one of THOSE days, he could see.

"You're an idiot," Mabel drawled, flipping her hair behind her shoulder in a fluid motion. "We can't cancel. We've got one in the box..."

Dipper fixed the amulet on his collar, the item beginning to glow a bright green-blue. Mabel wore a similar one on her headband, that glowed just as brightly, but she didn't fuss over it as much as her brother.

Dipper was more...paranoid, Mabel found. She loved basking in the limelight once upon the stage, portraying spuns tales of intricate lies, and making an entertaining show out of ridding the resistance. They'd found another last night, a curious teenager who broke into their tent and almost got away with some important things. Including a journal Dipper seemed to protect with his life nowadays.

Unlike his twin counterpart, Dipper didn't exactly bask as much. He stayed quiet and solemn, occasionally foreboding, choosing to stare at the audience as Mabel did most of the work. She hardly minded; she loved to talk. If Dipper wanted to be a party-pooper, so be it.

He was the one who fussed over how he looked in the mirror, complained about his hair, tapped the amulet constantly to ensure it was still there, flipped through the pages of the journal every night without interruption. Mabel didn't much care, only caring if she looked presentable. Despite her brother being so slow and intricate about things, she simply went along.

"C'mon, Dip," Mabel sighed, tilting her head to the stage outside, the cheers of people calling her forward. She was ready to put on a show, and she wasn't letting Dipper stop her. "You look fine. Let's GO."

Dipper huffed, scooting his chair back with a loud screech, but he silently complied. He swiftly moved past her, his cape fluttering behind him. Mabel resisted the urge to step on it, deciding to trip him once they had time.

"Introducing...the Gleeful Twins!" A voice announced, and the lights dimmed, cheers rising up from the crowd in excited anticipation.

Dipper stepped out to stand in the spotlight, as Mabel readied their main act. She approached a tall standing box hidden in the shadows, its surface carved with symbols and glitter and sparkly edges to shine as the main attraction once in the light. Despite the box's beauty, there was an odd amount of puncture marks almost strategically placed around the container, hardly evident, but still bemusing to anyone who passed it by if they didn't know its cause.

Mabel pulled the front of the box open, smiling at the person inside. Their intruder from last night, tied up tightly with rope and gagged successfully. The teen's eyes widened at the child before him, and he tried to make a noise, nearly falling over as he did and slamming his head against the side of the box.

"Hush, now," Mabel cooed, tapping her fingers on the box's edges as she ensured he was tied up right. "The fun's only about to begin."

She leaned in close, practically feeling the tension and fear emanating from the poor soul. She giggled, a light-hearted sound that a five-year-old would make rather than the sadistic-looking girl here. "This is why...you don't trespass, friend..."

She slammed the box shut, feeling it shake as the teen panicked and attempted to escape, accomplishing nothing of course. She dutifully pushed the box to the spotlight where Dipper still stood, quietly staring at the crowd, his eyes gleaming as the excitement built.

"Aaaand here's our main act!" Mabel exclaimed, her voice echoing across the tent. "We got a LOVELY volunteer for this. Dipper, if you may?"

Dipper walked to the side of the stage, and Mabel flipped her hair over her shoulder. "While we wait for him...do know that your fates are quite...interesting." She smiled as murmurs rose in the crowd, people frantically waving their hands and calling out for their fate to be revealed. Mabel propped her chin with her fist, smirking at the crowd as Dipper returned, six golden-hilted swords in hand.

"Thank you, Dipper!" Mabel stated and Dipper nodded, taking his place to the side of the box. Mabel gleefully picked up one of the swords her twin had laid carefully on the ground, and she eyed the blade. Sharpened perfectly.

The crowd fell to a hush as they realized what the act could be, and people watched in happy anticipation as Mabel circled the box, running one hand along the sides marred with stabbed holes.

"Now...when I put in a sword...I want to hear you cheer!" She prompted the crowd. "Ready, Dipper?"

Dipper knelt down and took a sword for himself, also running a finger down the blade before positioning it, touching the tip to the side of the box.

Mabel nodded and the two shoved the swords into the box in unison, a roaring cheer coming from the crowd as the blades sliced effortlessly through the box and poked out on the other end. Mabel could hear muffled screeching coming from within, and she smiled slightly. Dipper looked down at the end of the sword that had poked out, covered in a sheen of blood. He deftly wiped it off with a handkerchief and stuffed it back in his pocket as Mabel reached down for another sword.

This time, she aimed the blade higher, nodding at Dipper to do the same. Again, the routine ensued, the blades entering the box and cheers rising up and filling the tent. Dipper quickly wiped away the blood that was apparent as Mabel stood in front of the box, listening closely as the muffled screaming died away to soft whimpering.

The twins picked up the last of the swords and repeated the process, this time the box falling silent. Mabel smiled at the crowd, waving her hands across her face as Dipper pushed the box farther down the stage.

"Now our volunteer will come out unscathed!" Mabel announced as the spotlight switched off. She heard her brother open the box and rid of the intruder that was now...taken care of. She waited a few seconds more, quickly emitting a glow of green-blue to distract the crowd before Dipper pushed the box forward again.

The box still looked intact, as if it had never been touched, the swords still sticking out, almost shining.

Mabel waved, a flourish of her hand as Dipper pulled out the swords one by one, tossing them on the floor with a clatter. The door swung open, revealing a completely unscathed man, who stepped out and bowed. The crowd went wild, and both twins bowed in unison before gathering the swords and making their way off the stage, the cheers following them as they headed back to the small room.

Mabel took a deep breath, the cheers still echoing in her ears. "That was exhilarating."

"More like exhausting," Dipper murmured as he dumped the swords by the vanity, sitting back down before the mirror. "That guy weighed almost a hundred pounds."

"You're just a shrimp," Mabel teased, tugging his ear as she passed him.

Dipper frowned as he inspected himself in the mirror, the amulet within his collar shining brightly. "Despite the fact he was a nuisance...he wasn't enough."

"It WAS fun," Mabel insisted, tapping the shining item within her headband. "But you're right. We'll never summon...him...with only this much power."

"We need more." Dipper spun around in his chair, gazing towards the opening that led towards the stage. "Someone else."

"Well...I heard there's some newcomers in town this week," Mabel responded, leaning against Dipper's chair in thought. "Some girl and her little brother, I think...visitors."

"Visitors? In Gravity Falls?!" Dipper asked incredulously and Mabel shrugged. "Don't look at me! They're not here for us...they're with some guy down at that shack place with the cool tourist stuff. I mean, not as cool as us, but..."

"Huh..." Dipper stood to his feet, already beginning to conjure up a plan. "I think we've got our next volunteers, Mabel."

"Yup, Dipping Sauce," Mabel chirped, stepping on his cape and effectively tripping him, watching him take the chair down with him.

"...goddammit, Mabel."

The End


End file.
